On our way to the Grand Canyon from Winslow yesterday, we stopped off at one of the world's largest and best preserved meteor impact craters. I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw this on the map, but I can honestly say that it is well worth the $15 price of admission.
From the photo below you can see how massive this crater really is. For some perspective, the dark rectangular area at the 7 o'clock position is a parking lot and the black line curving away from that is the two-lane road that connects to the Interstate.
So here are the numbers for those of you nerds out there:
- The impact occurred 50,000 years ago
- The meteor was traveling at 40,000 miles per hour
- The meteor was only 150 feet in diameter
- The explosion was equivalent to 20 million tons of TNT
- 175 million tons of rock was displaced due to the impact
- The crater is 4,000 feet across and 55o feet deep
If you ever find yourself in the Flagstaff, Arizona area, you must make time to visit this place. There is a little museum and a 30-minute movie that really makes the whole experience a lot of fun, not to mention very interesting.
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